El Muyso Festival

2023

Designed by Aisling Murphy and Fiona Ennis

Festival Photography: Casey French

Woodworker: José Luis

Activity Planning: Flynn Magali, Juanita Arango

Categories: Print / Identity / Experience / Other

Industry: Charitable

Tags: Illustration / Typography / Festival

While embracing the Colombian pace of life, overcoming language barriers and avoiding goose attacks, we collaborated with Fundación Montecito to design an environmental and cultural festival. We spent an immersive 8-weeks in Colombia, pro bono, guiding the development, design and production of the annual El Muyso Festival — dedicated to educating local families about the conservation of Lake Tota's wetlands.

We began by connecting with local children, facilitated by Felipe's translation skills. We visited their homes and schools, to gain insights and assess their existing knowledge. These conversations inspired the El Muyso Festival brand and supporting educational materials — including a bird guide, a conservation award, socials and a game. We created lasting impact and design systems that will serve the organization for years to come.

El Muyso Festival is centered around the future protectors of the land — the children. With this in mind, the brand illustrations were inspired by the children's imaginative drawings of El Muyso (a local monster legend!). A balanced typographic framework contrasts these innocent illustrations. Minimal colour was introduced to allow nature to be the primary source of texture and imagery.